Friedman Talks 'Stargazer' Book Series

It takes a lot of work to keep up with the ever-expanding Trek novel franchise, and author Michael Jan Friedman is busy working on yet another literary incarnation - a novel series dealing with Jean-Luc Picard's first command, the U.S.S. Stargazer.

The series continues from Friedman's 2000 novel 'The Valiant,' which saw a young Jean-Luc Picard take command of the starship after the death of his captain. Talking to Jaqueline Bundy at the Great Link, Friedman explained why he decided to use the book as a launching-pad for further stories.

"With Peter David working on New Frontier and Diane Carey working on New Earth, I was originally going to create a series springing from 'Starfleet Year One'," he said. "That's one of the reasons the book has so many characters; it was always meant to be the beginning of something bigger. Then Enterprise came along and it seemed silly to continue a series that conflicted with screen-established continuity, so we went to plan B: a Stargazer series, jumping off from the point where 'The Valiant' ended."

The first two novels, 'Gauntlet' and 'Progenitor,' were released in paperback in May. Each book is designed to tell a self-contained story, but with continuing character arcs. "The current goal is two Stargazer books a year," Friedman said. "And now that we've got the first two out, we're really going to pick up steam. Anybody who thinks he or she knows what's going to happen to McAteer, Ulelo, Nikolas, and some of the other characters may be in for a surprise. Book Three focuses on the Asmunds; it's called, appropriately enough, 'Three'. Book Four is about Picard's 'first' meeting with a very important person in his life."

Friedman plans to pen a 'Stargazer' short-story for a Trek anthology series in addition to working on future full-length novels. "I've obviously done some plotting on Books III and IV, and I've tinkered with V and VI as well," he said. There may even be an appearance by a pivotal figure in Picard's life. "Jack Crusher won't be joining the crew for some time. At this point, I have no plans for him to show up...aboard the Stargazer, at least."

To read the full interview, head over to this page at the Great Link. The following 'Stargazer' books are available for online ordering: